No Longer Your Shadow, Mr. CEO

re, and hushed, respectful service. A few days after their initial meeting, Anabel and Damion we

erfectly manicured finger on a line item. "Registered in the

ng his shoulder for a brief moment. They were a

ure. The eyes. The cheekbones. Mirror images. She'd dismissed it at first as Caleb's pathology-a man replacing his wife with a copy. But now, in the quiet between legal strategies, the question surfaced unbidden: why would a woman who looked so much like her just... exist?

ross the room, a different kin

bel's earnest, upturned face; Damion's cool, attentive gaze. The way their heads were bent close together over t

d a half-d

the best one-the one where it looked like Damion was about

Ca

und a new shoulder to cry on. He'

hit

y walked toward the door, Damion glanced back at the file photos of Jodie still open on Anabel's phone. "The resemblance truly is uncanny," he murmured, almost

with finality, unwilling to examine the thought further. Damion let it drop, but the observatio

first time in weeks, a sliver of hope. She had a p

ed at precisely nine

lamming against the interior wall with a violent

stor

ushed, his eyes were bloodshot, and he moved with a dangerous, preda

, heard the crash and came out to the hal

e said, her

g. He didn't stop until he was inches from her face, invading her

in her face, the scr

re Jodie had sen

ral growl. "So you can run off with this... ambulance-chasing piece of trash? Did y

grotesquely unfair, that for a mo

ic asshole," she said, her v

into her like talons. "A man like Damion Morris doesn't have

k his grip. "You, with your pregnant mistress who you moved into

odie was like ga

nge mix of rage and desperation. "I told you, she means nothing!

oken sound. "You already did, Caleb! You

ason s

ing her hard, his body caging her in, his forearms braced on either side of her shoulders. The impact

r. "You are my wife," he hissed, his face inches from her

kiss. It was a punishment. A violent, bruising assertion of owners

She squirmed, beating her fists against his ches

and pinning them above her head. With his other hand, he grabbed

rough her. This wasn't just a fi

gly blank, and pure, pr

nee connecting with br

r, his body convulsing. His grip on her

all she

s he stumbled back, clutching himself, sh

cting with his cheek was like a

AC

the side. A bright red handprint bloomed o

th shock. No one had ever

t wait for h

rned a

r ears. She didn't run to the master bedroom-his room. S

umbled with the lock, her hands shaking uncontroll

o the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrappin

ry. The time for tears was long past. This was a different kind of emotion. A terrifying, cla

crossed

was no c

-